• IMALlama@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    I am amused at the up and downvotes on your comment. Have an up vote from me :)

    A 7.0 log10 lethality means that a process has reduced the number of harmful bacteria, like Salmonella, by a factor of 10 million, effectively killing 99.99999% of them

    This is the same way they measure the time duration you need to hold poultry at 165°F for.

    Here’s a fun thought experiment: egg whites collegiate (ie are considered cooked) at 150° F. To reach 7.0 log10 levels of salmonella killing you would have to either have to hold your eggs at this temperature for 72 seconds or cook them to a higher temperature and hold them there less long. I don’t know about you, but I like over easy eggs. The center of the yolk gets no where near 150.

    • SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      3 hours ago

      I am a microbiologist, I can vouch this is correct. There’s the concept of infective dose, which is the number of pathogens required to infect a host.

      Humans are exposed to pathogens on a regular basis. As long as the amount of exposure is not enough to cause illness, you’re in the clear. A 7-log10 reduction should get pathogens far below the infective dose, unless you’re eating like…a solid mass of Salmonella. Gross.

      Now I’m going to sous vide some chicken breasts at 120°F this weekend, for science!

      Edit: just remembered Clostridium species are more heat resistant and sporulate. Don’t want botulism. 140°F it is!